Nostalgia. This word means so much to so many people for so many different reasons. A simple photography, movie line or guitar lick can open up a world of memories of place and time once experienced for better or worse. Generally I like to remember the better but sometimes revel in the worse…maybe as we all do. In the last few weeks I’ve really tweaked my sound as a guitarist by adding a stellar early 70s twin reverb as my primary amp. My Strat and Tele have never sounded better. And then I came across a little number from 1992 entitled “Dim” on Pandora this week and everything became a little bit clearer. This week’s Friday Album is Dada Puzzle.

Again back to the early 90s? Come on Grez…surely you’ve evolved from there. I guess in some ways I have or just found a deeper appreciation for the music to which I listen for the past, um, 30 years. I did some homework on the band Dada and this is what I found:

The thinking behind bringing Bob Van Persie to Manchester for his first show in the UK was presumably motivated by little more than the fact that his son Robin is presently this City’s most celebrated adopted son, after Manchester United’s number 20 unarguably singlehandedly thrust them their 20th League title. This connection is exploited further still tonight as revealed by the restrictions on this private view, tightened to the extent that every VIP invitee is admitted under a couple of strict conditions:

Flying back from the Far East took me through Los Angeles and with it a reunion with none other then my co-publisher at Joup, a man by the name of Shawn C. Baker. It was most certainly a homecoming and LA, for better or worse, is quite the slice of Americana. Bakes had some time off so we decided to head north from his home in San Pedro out to Venice Beach and it’s post-hippie-chic-glitz-glam. Our main objective wasn’t the show though, it was to catch Sunday skateboarding at the recently renovated Venice Beach skatepark. After all, this is where all the four-wheel action began. So let’s take a look at the shots and go into a bit of detail about them.

Pai, Thailand – The second installment of Joup’s three part coverage of grass roots Muay Thai. I have traveled a long road through Thailand to the small town of Pai (80km NW of Chiang Mai) to find the origin and heart of Muay Thai – beyond the glitz and glamor of the UFC and Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Of course both Lumpinee and the UFC are huge in modern fighting (and betting and prize purses), but the essence of the successful UFC fighter flow from training in Muay Thai. Joup has reviewed a basic history and development of Muay Thai in Part 1. Now we’ll observe the Pai Training Gym named Charn Chai with head trainer Bee. Part 3 will conclude by following the fighters of Charn Chia including Englishman Liam Kirkham (1-0) in bouts taking place at an annual festival in Pai.

Pai, Thailand – Being one of the most utilized money earning martial arts in the world leads to respected acclaim and ultimate popularity, all of which seemingly go hand in hand. However, for those that live the life of Muay Thai – the life of training, regimen, fighting and yet more training – there lies so much more. I have traveled a long road through Thailand to the small town of Pai (80km NW of Chiang Mai) to find the origin and heart of Muay Thai beyond the glitz and glamor of the UFC and Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Of course both Lumpinee and the UFC are huge in modern fighting (and betting and prize purses), but the roots of the successful UFC fighter stem from, in part, training in Muay Thai. In this three part story Joup hopes to gain insight into Muay Thai through reviewing it’s history and development, observing a Pai Training Gym named Charn Chai with head trainer Bee and finally by following English fighter Liam Kirkham (1-0) who trains at Charn Chai and will fight his second fight in Pai.

I really didn’t know what all the fuss was about. I mean yeah I like cars. Ok, I really like cars…and bikes…I’m a guy. But what was so big about a compact box shaped four door that twelve men (and some of their families) drove from around the Malay peninsula to share a weekend?